Smarter Beverage Choices Make Big Difference

Susan Farley

Published Online: Thursday, June 1, 2006

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A small study, the results of which were
published in the March issue of Pediatrics,
showed that teens who switched from
high-calorie drinks to noncaloric beverages
lost a pound a month over a 6-month
period. Researchers at Children's Hospital
Boston had 103 teenagers switch to a
noncaloric beverage for a half year and
participate in discussions with researchers
about their drink choices. Teens
in the control group did not change what
they were drinking, which included high-calorie
drinks. The heaviest group of teens
in the noncaloric drink group lost the
equivalent of one pound a month. The
results were significant enough to warrant
a larger study, which will be sponsored by
the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the
Charles H. Hood Foundation. Lead author
Cara Ebbeling, the hospital's codirector of
obesity research, pointed to the simplicity
of the small study: "Most interventions ?
take a very comprehensive approach,
but?we targeted one behavior."